Counter for chemical feeders



Aug 29, 1950 w. J. HUGHES COUNTER FOR CHEMICAL FEEDERS Filed Feb. 23,1946 INVENTOR. Wager JH@ BY Q Patented Aug. 29, 1950 UNITED STATES FFICEVilalter J. Hughes, Chicagmlllatssignqr,toflniilco Incorporated, ChicagmIll.,V awcorporation of lDelaware Applicationilfebruary 23, 1946, SerialNo. 649,560

(Cl. :Z22-131) y11 Claims. `1

This invention relates to volumetricfdry chemical feeders.yMore'particularly it relates-to means for integrating and indicatingthe quantityof dry material fed by a feeder, preferably by Weight.

In any plant where chemicalsfare fed, suchfas for instance in water orsewage treatingplants, it 'is `desirable to 'know :the exact quantityv'of chemicals used in anyfgiven period,'ior example, thenumber ofpounds-per day or hour. fA primary use of suchv information is toprovide-a ready check on whether'theproper amounts ofchemicals arbeingused, although it-is also important for -proper cost accounting, andother purposes.

When feeding at a` constantrate, it isrelatively simple to note thenumber of hours a vfeeder has operated during a period of'time-andtocompute V*therefrom Vthe quantity of chemicals 7fed. Nevertheless thisvmethod'is of course subject to all the errors and irregularities of anypersonally taken record.

Constant rateffeeding'is,however, not the rule. There aremany reasonsWhy the rate of feedhas tobe changed frequently. 'To'mention only a few:'the quantity of Va liquid being dosed,'suc`h as Water or sewage, mayVary, necessitating a changefinthe rate of dosage with chemicalsin notshown.

and the number of errors and irregularities in makingV these willincrease correspondingly.

VIt is obvious that this manner of acquiring data places aheavy burdenon the operator and isat the same time a sourceof errors andinexactness.

-2 erably-,by weight,z.that has been fedup to vthat moment.

-fAnotl-zerobjectfofthe invention is Vto providean indicating deviceforahernieal feeder which can he adjusted to correspond .fto ftheweighty ofany chemical to be fed, and Whichdsfantomati'-nallyadinstedfstovarying,y rates-.of feed.

kOther gobj ects of the; invention will -jlfaeconme apparent-fromconsideration of'l the description and thegclaims tov follow.

lMy inventionrssuit'able'for use with-f any feederhavinga;'substantiallyflinear relation between'fthe amplitude fof:reciprecation Fof the ymoving fparts and= t-heieed rate. `lherefore,while it willbe described for/Durposes offillustrationzand ,exempli-kcation with a feeder of the-:type shown-in'm-y copending application,Serial f-No. Y599,734, it will be understood "that the invention is lnot llimited toithe speciiic.embodimentfshown and described hereafter.

The soleiiigurecvoffthe drawing shows an;isometric :.view of :apreferredembodiment of the invention.

I Tfherfeeder :whose Aoutputrof chemicals is ftoibe meteredbyfmy'i-nventionis-shown for exemplifl# cationv substantially-z in? theMform described in 1 the abovementioned application. It may-comprise 'ahopper I0 for'fthe material tube-fed, anda,movablenfeeding receptacleortray. H from which" the material vm-afybe extruded Aby any suitablemeans The 'feeding freceptaele may :be mounted below rfthe hopper ona-pansaddle 12 which `in-jturn will be --pivotallysupported by anysuitable means, such as trunnions "i3, mounted in-one'end of`'supporting links I4,y thefother end of whichmaybe rigidly mountedonafshaft i5.

Reciprocation of ythe shaft is derived :through the intermediaryv of-a;-main. crank l I 6 which may be connected` ythrough suitable linkage,Ynot showmto anysourceof power. Themainfcrank I6 is rigidly mounted on acrank shaft Irlffon which isealso .rigidly mounted f a curvedfrate'setter ,crank ,120 --preferably having a: peripheral slot 2|. .9Acrank 22A-whichmay be one armofarocker .Ziyis keyed-tosshait l5as-shown. The-'free end offthe cranklifis pinned-toa linkr24,v:-which-is also,ad;iustably pinned to .thevrzurfveollcrankv 20. Ifthecurved crankfisslotted as preferred, the right` yend 1 of linkI,2li`v will carry. a l pin 2 5 ttingf. in the v4slot :12| vand tlockedat any position ralong fthe slot byI anysuitable means, :such .as .wing#nut k26.

With this .construction it is obvious thatthe settingof theapinin theslot 2l will denethe amplitude ofrreciprocationfof the feed-receptacleH, .and therefore ythe rate atrrwhichchemicals are fed by the feeder.With the pin set at its uppermost position, motion of the crank 22 andthe shaft I will be at a minimum, and the receptacle I I Will thereforehave a minimum movement and a minimum of chemicals will be fed. On theother hand, when the pin 25 is set at the lowermost end of the slot 2|the amplitude of reciprocation will be at its maximum, and the feederwill operate at its maximum rate. The structure described so far hasbeen disclosed in the said copending application and is not claimedherein except in conjunction with the present invention, which residesin the device, connected to and driven by the feeder, for integratingand indicating, preferably by weight, the quantity of chemicals fed bythe feeder.

To meter, or integrate, the quantities of chemicals fed from the`reciprocating receptacle I I I utilize a counter of known construction,indicated at 30. Such devices are old per se, being available in theopen market in various forms, but as far as is known to me it has neverheretofore been suggested to use such a counter in a combination andmanner, or for the purpose I now propose.

In order that the counter indicate the actual quantity of materialdispensed by the feeder, it has to be driven at a speed proportional tothe predetermined angular amplitude of reciprocation of the receptacleII. Since it is usually desirable to meter the quantity of chemicals byWeight, the proportion between the speed of the counterdrive and thereciprocal amplitude of the receptacle will be defined by the specificweight of the material to be fed.

To proportion the speed of the counter to the feed rate, i. e. theamplitude of movement of the tray II, I provide suitable linkage fortransmitting the amplitude of the angular movement of the crank 22 tothe drive shaft 3| of the counter 30 in such manner that the drive shaft3| is rotated through an angle proportional to the amplitude ofoscillation or reciprocation of theY crank 22. A simple and preferredform of such connection is shown in the drawing. Briefly the drive shaft3| is connected through suitable gearing 32 to a shaft 33 to which aratchet wheel 34 is keyed. An arm 35 is pivotally mounted on the shaft33 and carries a pawl 36 which registers with the teeth of ratchet wheel34. Preferably, to provide against reverse rotation of the ratchet wheel34,71 provide a second pawl 31, also registering with the teeth ofratchet wheel 34. The second pawl 3'! is mounted on a stationary arm 38,which is supported by any suitable means, such as on the wall of thehopper I0. A link 4|! is pinned to the right or free end of the arm 35and is adjustably pinned to the other arm- 4| of rocker 23, as describedbelow.

With this construction it will be obvious that oscillation of the crank22 will oscillate the arm 35 and pawl 36 to progressively turn theratchet wheel 34, and the shaft 33 keyed thereto, anticlockwise. Eachprogressive movement of the ratchet wheel 34 and shaft 33 is through anangle which is proportional, `at any Vgiven setting of the link 4|) onthe arm 4|, to the amplitude ofv oscillation of theV crank 22. Since theamplitude of oscillation of the crank 22 govern-S the amplitude ofreciprocation of the feed receptacle II, it will be obvious that therotational speed of the shaft 33 (and therefore also of the drive shaft3| of the counter geared to it) will thus be proportional to the feedrate. Thus any variation in the rate of feed (set by adjustment oflocation of the pin 25 in the slot 2|) automatically varies the amountof rotation of shaft 32 with each stroke of the feeder.

Preferably adjusting means will be provided to vary the proportion ofthe amplitude of movements of the crank 22 and the ratchet wheel 34 overthe range of specific weights of the various materials being fed, suchas lime, soda, alum, etc. Even where only7 one kind of material is toIbe fed such adjustability is desirable, as the specific Weight of suchmaterials varies from batch to batch, so that for exact operation it isnecessary to reset the adjusting means for the exact specific Weight ofeach neW batch. So far as I am aware no means has heretofore beenproposed for this purpose. In order for the counter to accuratelyintegrate the weight of the various materials delivered by the feeder,

thefrelative amplitude of the reciprocating movement of the crank 22 andthe angular movement of the ratchet Wheel 34 must be subject toadjustment, as such relative movement has a denite value for eachspecific Weight of any material to be fed. I provide, therefore, meansfor setting this relation at different values in accordance with variousspecific weights by varying the length of the stroke of the link 40 inrelation to the movement ofthe crank 22. This adjustment is secured bymoving the pin 44 by'which the link 40 is connected to the arm 4|, alongthat arm. Preferably the weight setter arm .4| is provided with anarcuate slot 42 curved to form the segment of a circle, of which the rod40 is the radius. The pin 44 is movable along the slot 42, and may beset in any desired position along the slot by suitable means such as alock nut, not shown. With this construction it will be seen that theproportional relation between the two movements (that of rod 4|! 'andthat of crank 22) is governed by the setting of the pin 44 in slot 42.When the pin is set at the right end of the slot 42, nearest. the crank22, the proportion of the amplitude of movement of the crank 22 that istransmitted to the link 40 will be at its minimum value; and conversely,when the pin 44 is set at the opposite end of the slot 42, it will be atits maximum value'. Conseauently Athe speed at which the counter isdriven increases directly with the distance the pin is set away from thecrank 22.

It will be obvious that the rate at which the counter is driven isgoverned by two factors: the setting of pin 25 in slot 2| of rate setter20, which denes the amplitude of movement of crank 22 and feedingreceptacle and the setting of pin 44 in slot 42 of the weight setter 4I,which governs the relative. amplitudes of the oscillation of crank 22and the angular movement of ratchet wheel 34. For each setting of pin 25there is a definiteV amplitude of movement of crank 22. For each settingof pin 44 there is a definite pro- `portion of this amplitudetransmitted to the drive shaft 3| of the counter. Thus the rate setter2n is used to vary the volume ot' material delivered by each stroke ofthe feeder pan II. The weight setter arm 4I is used to Vary the relativeamplitude of the reciprocation of 'can I i .and of the rotation ofcounter drive shaft 3| proportionately to the specific weights of the`materials being fed. I'hus when a heavy material is being fed the pin 44will be set toward the left, or free, end of the arm 4|. Conversely.when a light material is being fed the pin 44 will be set toward theright, or inner, end of the atacan@l armdl. In practice, knowing,vfor'instance, the ratei of feed of alum to 'be llil'lbs. per hour whenrate setter pin 25 is setA at its maximum (lower)l position in slotl 2lof rate setter 2t, thel pin 44 is set in slot 42v of the Weight setteril so that the counter will run up a count of 180 in` one hour. Then, ifthe rate setter pin 2.5. is set'for. 50% or 90 lbs. per hour, theamplitude of crank 22-.will1be half as much as at; the maximum positionof pin 2.5. Since thel setting of pin. ill in slot 42 has remainedunchanged, the same proportion of the new amplitude of movement ofcrankv 22 will be transmitted tov the counter drive shaft 3l as before.'The counter will there fore be driven at. half the rate and run up acountv of 90 in one hour. When another material is fed, the location ofweight setter pin llin slot 42 is changed to varythe proportion ofmovement of crank 22 that will be transmitted to shaft 3iproportionately to the specific weight of that material. Proper pointsof setting of pin M along slot 42' for various weights of material canbe easily determined. The weight setter arm lll may be properlycalibrated and'v a pointer affixed to the link 49 to facilitate settingof the pin M. With proper setting of the pin M for the exact specificweight of each material being fed the counter will indicate` at anymoment the exact weight of the material that has been delivered by thefeeder.

It Will be seen that I provide a new and practical means` forautomatically integrating the Weight of the material fed by a feeder ofthe type described, and for easily and exactly setting the countingmeans for the specific weight of any material to bel fed. It Will beobvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited tothe exact construction shown and described for purposes of illustration.but that the embodiment shown could be changedin various respectswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Whatmatters is that: the amplitude of rotation of the counter drive shaft isvariable in direct proportion to the specic weights of materials to befed. and for any predeterminedy setting of the weight setter isautomatically in direct proportion to the amplitude of reciprocation ofthe feeder (which, in turn, is directly proportional to the feed rateset by the rate setting means). Obviously, these essential featuresl ofthe invention cou-ld be' embodied in a different construction than thatshown andv described. It will be understood, therefore, that I do notWish to limit myself thereto, but that the claims which follow are to begiven as broad an interpretation as may be permitted by prior art.

I claim:

l. In combination with a feeder having reciprocating means swingableabout a center of rtation for operating said feeder, and rate settingmeans connected to said reciprocating means for governing the amplitudeof reciprocation of said reciprocating means, counting means adapted tointegrate the quantity of material fed at any setting of said ratesetting means, said counting means comprising a counter, rotatable drivemeans connected to said counter, and a reciprocable member operativelyconnecting said counter drive means to the reciprocating means of saidfeeder so as to move said counter drive means through an angularamplitude directly proportional to the amplitude of reciprocation ofsaid reciprocating means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising also adjusting means for radiallypositioning said reciprocable,A member withrespect tothe center offrotation of said reciprocating means, including an arm-rigidly connectedto said reciprocating means and swingable therewith, and means forpositioning the reciprocable member along said arm so as to vary theratio between the angular amplitudeof said drive means and the amplitudeof reciprocation of said reciprocating means.

3. In combination with a feeder having a reciprocableV receptacle,reciprocating means having a variable amplitude of re'ciprocationl forreciproeating said receptacle, and rate setting means governing theamplitude of reciprocation of said reciprocating means, a counter, arotatable shaft geared to said counter, a ratchet Wheel keyed to said;shaft, a ratchet arm pivotally mounted on said shaft, a pawl mounted onone end of said ratchet arm and registering with said ratchet wheel, asector rigidly connected to said reciproeatingA means, and a linkpivotally connected to said ratchetl armv with one end, and adjustablypinned tosaid sector with itsother end.

4. In combination with a volumetric dry feeder including a reciprocatingmemben the quantity of, material fedby said feeder being proportional tothe: amplitude of reciprocation of said member, andrate settingmeansgoverning the amplitude of reciprocation of said-7 reciprocating member,a counter, drive means geared to said counter, and linkage connectingsaid drive meansv to said reciprocating member and adapted to move saiddrive'rneans through anr anglelp-roportional to the amplitudey ofreciproca-tion of said reciprocating member,V said linkage including areciprocable rod pinned to said drive means, an arm rigidly connected tosaid reciprocating member, a curved slot in said arm, and' means toposition said rod in saidY slot.

5. In; a volumetric dryl chemical feeder having av reciprocating memberand the feeding characteristic of delivery proportional to the setangular amplitude ofv said reciprocating member, the combination1withsaid reciprocating member of a counter, a second member operativelyconnecting said. counter to said reciprocating member so as to rotatesaldi counter through an angular amplituder proportional to that of thereciprocating member, and means` for adjusting said second memberradially with respect to the center of reciprocationofsa-i'dreciprocating member so as to vary the relation between the amplitude ofrotation of said counter and the amplitude of reciprocation of saidreciprocating member for adjustment in respect to the specific Weight ofthe material being fed.

6. Counting means for a volumetric dry chemical feeder having areciprocating member and the feed characteristic of deliveryproportional to the set amplitude of reciprocation of said reciprocatingmember, said counting means comprising a counter, drive means for saidcounter including an oscillatory member, and connecting means connectingsaid oscillatory member to the reciprocating member of said feeder so asto oscillate said oscillatory member through an angle proportional tothe set amplitude of reciprocation of said reciprocating member, saidconnecting means including a reciprocable rod, one end of said rod beingpinned to said oscillatory means and the other end of said rod beingconnected to said reciprocating member, and means for varying the radialdistance between the center of rotation of said reciprocating member andsaid other end of said rod so as to vary the ratio between the amplitudeof oscillation of said oscillatory member and the amplitude ofreciprocation of said reciprocating member.

7. In combination with a volumetric dry feeder having a reciprocatingfeed receptacle, reciprocating means for said receptacle, and ratesetting means governing the amplitude of reciprocation of saidreciprocating means and feed receptacle, integrating means adapted tomeasure by weight the quantity of material fed from said feed receptaclecomprising a rotatable member, oscillatory means operative to rotatesaid rotatable member, and linkage connecting said oscillatory means tosaid rate setting means so as to move said oscillatory means through anangle which is proportional to, and variable in amplitude with. respectto, the amplitude of reciprocation of said feed receptacle, said linkageincluding a. Weight setting sector rigidly connected to saidreciprocating means, a rod pivotally connected to said oscillatory meansand to said weight setting sector, and adjusting means for positioningsaid rod along said Weight setting sector so as to vary the proportionof the movement of the said reciprocating means transmitted to saidoscillatory means through said linkage in accordance with variations inspecific weight of the material fed from said receptacle, and a counterdriven from said rotatable member.

8. In combination with a feeder having a reciprocable receptacle,reciprocating means adapted to reciprocate said receptacle, and ratesetting means governing the amplitude of reciprccation of saidreciprocating means, a counter, a rotatable shaft geared to saidcounter, a ratchet wheel affixed to said shaft, an arm pivotally mountedon said shaft, a paWl on one end of said arm, a link pinned to the otherend of said arm, a second arm having a slot curved to form the segmentof a circle having a radius equal to the length of said link, the freeend of said link being movable along said slot, means for positioningsaid link on said slot, one end of said second arm being rigidlyconnected to said reciprocating means.

9. In combination with a chemical feeder having a driving crank and arate of feed linear to the angular movement of said driving crank, and asector and crank driving link positionable along said sector governingthe amplitude of the angular movement of said crank, a second sectorrigidly connected to and moved in unison with the said driving crank, acounter and a counter driving link in driving connection with saidcounter and adjustably connected to said second sector, so as to rotatethe said counter through an angle proportional to the amplitude of theangular movement of said crank, as set by the setting of said crankdriving link on said rst sector, and having a ratio to the amplitude ofsaid angular movement varying with the setting of said counter drivinglink on said second sector.

1 0. In combination with a volumetric chemical feeder having a movableelement, means for varying the amplitude of the movement of the movableelement, and a feed characteristic of delivery proportional to theamplitude of said movement, a sector rigidly connected to said movableelement so as to be moved in unison therewith, a counter, drive meansgeared to said counter, and a link operatively connecting said drivemeans and said sector, said link being adjustable along said sector.

11. In combination with a feeder having a reciprocating operating memberswingable about a center of rotation, and rate setting means controllingthe amplitude of reciprocation of said reciprocating member, a counter,drive means for the counter, and a link operatively connecting saiddrive means with said reciprocating member, said link being pivotallyfixed at one end to said drive means and at the other end beingpivotally connected to said reciprocable member so as to move said drivemeans through an angle proportional to the amplitude of reciprocation ofsaid reciprocating member, said other end of said link being adjustableradially with respect to said center of rotation of said reciprocatingmember so as to vary the ratio of the amplitudes of movement of saiddrive means and of said reciprocating member.

WALTER J. HUGHES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 265,696 Osborne Oct. 10, 1882714,958 Sleeman et al. Dec. 2, 1902 1,193,704 Ludlow Aug. 8, 19162,116,105 Eaton May 3, 1938 2,279,475 Merrick Apr. 14, 1942 2,334,337Lawry et al Nov. 16, 1943 2,389,702 Ullmer Nov. 27, 1945 Certificate ofCorrection Patent No. 2,520,546 August 29, 195o WALTER J. HUGHES It ishereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of theabove numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column l, line 24, for the Word quantity read qualit? and that the saidLetters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same mayconform to the record of the case in the Patent Oiiice.

Signed and sealed this 12th day of December, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,520,546 August 29, 195o WALTER J.HUGHES It is hereby certified that error appears in the printedspecification of the above numbered patent requiring correction asfollows:

Column l, line 24, for the Word quantity read quality;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, sothat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 12th day of December, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Oommz'esz'oner of Patents.

